


Decluttering Us

by XtaticPearl



Series: Tumblr prompt works [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkward Kissing, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Forehead Kisses, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 07:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18960268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: Tony learns a few things about love, Steve, and the joys of kissing.





	Decluttering Us

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: things you said after you kissed me

Things weren’t awkward between them. Awkward was for situations like learning that your second best friend was secretly the son-in-law of the guy who was gunning for your entire team’s freedom. Tony was sure that Betty wouldn’t exactly _mind_ if he caved in and punched Ross’ face but it was the situation that mattered. Maybe that wasn’t as much ‘awkward’ as fragile. Awkward was more suitable for when you walk into a date raffle event to see Justin Hammer bidding on you.

He could still look Steve in the eye without wanting to throw himself out the nearest window and Steve could still hand him a screwdriver without telling him in a creepy tone that he wanted to test if his ‘screw’ would match Tony’s ‘bolt’.

They were fine. It was not awkward.

“So, did you like it?” Rhodey asked from where he was busy inspecting the upgraded armour, head buried under the opened torso.

“Me? Yeah, of course, what?” Tony would not admit to his voice cracking any time after he had crossed his unfortunate teens. He kept his eyes trained on the data flashing on the holotable but heard Rhodey pause. 

"Uh, yeah you. Who else would I ask about the simulation readings?" Rhodey sounded confused but Tony breathed out. 

Simulation readings. Of course. 

"They look good," Tony replied and pulled up the next row of data. He had spent the last three hours ironing out every detail over the latest upgrades to the War Machine armour, debating every suggestion from its pilot and now he could  _feel_ Rhodey's gaze turning suspicious even without looking. 

"I'm fine," he called out even as he heard footsteps coming closer and looked over his shoulder to see his best friend eye him cautiously, "I'm not  _dying_ , geez, platypus."

"Okay," Rhodey nodded as he slowly came around the wires strewn around Tony to lean against the table, "You don't look so good though."

Tony hummed and swiped the finalized code to the right, bringing up the last stream to the forefront. 

"Is this about - wait -,' Rhodey frowned when Tony shot him a glance and tilted his head to the side, "It's Steve, isn't it?"

"It's not something -"

"Is it that  _bad_?"

"Could you stop your mind-reading thing? My thoughts have intellectual rights," Tony dodged the hand that came to push him but grinned as he shook his head, "It's not - we went out for dinner last night."

"And what, your blowjob sucked?" Rhodey raised a brow and Tony rolled his eyes. 

"There was no blowjob," he pointed out and slapped his friend's hand away when it came to meddle with his code, "It was just a dinner and a date. I _can_ be chivalrous, you know?"

"Yeah, but why was he?" Rhodey asked, leaning further over the table, catching Tony's eye with a cheeky smile, "Especially after he spent a whole six months before finally asking you out. Chivalry doesn't seem to be on for dessert."

"We were extremely decent, thank you. No paparazzi, no sex tapes," Tony replied, eyes running over the last error. 

Rhodey browsed through a new design manual from the nearest screen and Tony let it be as he worked through his code. 

"Hey, question," he called out once he was done and Rhodey hummed. 

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever had someone crowd you up against a wall, kiss you senseless, apologize immediately after and then run away saying that they need to throw up?"

There was a moment of silence where Tony didn't look away from his screen and then glanced up to see his friend consider him. 

"Well, you  _tried_ to kiss me when we first met and  _definitely_ threw up after that," he answered and this time Tony shook his head on a chuckle, "But I'm guessing Steve wasn't drunk off his mind."

"Being on a date with a recovering alcoholic removes that possibility," Tony said with a wry smile getting a nod from Rhodes. 

"It's not what you think it is."

"You don't know what I think," Tony reminded him with an amused look and Rhodey shrugged. 

"Tones, I know that you _look_ like a seal fighting over a grape when you kiss but I'm sure you don't _feel_ like one," he replied and ducked the punch to his shoulder, "I have confirmed sources that you don't kiss like a seal, man. And that's pretty good."

"Which fool ever agreed to date you, you heathen," Tony laughed, "What comparison is that?"

"Have you tried talking to Steve today?"

"He left for SHIELD at 6 a.m," Tony answered lightly and felt a hand on his shoulder when he looked at the holograph. It wasn't bad and he was fine. If he had been repeating the same thing to himself since morning, well that was between him and his brain. 

It was fine. They'd be fine. 

It wasn't awkward. 

At least it wouldn't be if Steve would stop running. Power walking. Skating. Whatever he was doing every time he and Tony were in the same room. It wasn't until after dinner that Tony found himself having a moment with Steve in privacy, when the others had cleared the room. He wasn't usually a fan of doing dishes by hand but considering that it was the only reason Steve hadn't run, Tony felt new appreciation for dirty utensils soaked in water. 

"Hi," he said and watched Steve's eyes skid over his face before jerking back to the plate he was cleaning. 

"Hi, Tony," Steve replied and Tony could hear the nervousness hidden underneath the calm, something he wouldn't have noted if he hadn't known Steve. He did though. He knew Steve and he could read the way his shoulders held a knot of tension between them. 

"Did Natasha force you into it?" he asked and leaned back against the kitchen island, feeling himself calm down with every minute that Steve clearly grew nervous. He could  _see_ the nerves bundling together in his arms and brows consciously avoiding a frown. Tony pulled up a chair and sat down, watching Steve work at the dishes. 

"No," Steve replied quietly and Tony felt his eyes crinkle as he caught the additional pressure going into scrubbing at an already eased away dirt on the plate. He wouldn't have known this two years ago, this gathering of tells that showed him more of the man that the world dissected with every appearance. 

"Did you like the sushi?" he asked and smiled at the curious pausing, a skipped beat that wouldn't show if you didn't look for the small jerk of water in the sink. 

Steve nodded, a cautious truth in the movement of neck and mind, and Tony's heart warmed a touch more at the understanding because this wasn't who they were before. It had taken time and Tony would never take back any moment of it because he could  _read_ this man now, this man who guarded his thoughts, his feelings, and himself so fiercely that all you would see was an impenetrable shield. It was an earned privilege and Tony didn't have to flaunt it, didn't have to share with anyone else the way he knew the tics that told stories over Steve Rogers' face. 

He brought a closed fist up and rested his chin on it, content in the simplicity of then, and watched the orange fin of a dish's border disappear under the dirty water. 

"Did you like the caviar?"

"It's okay?" Steve answered and Tony felt his smile bloom, a loose laughter rattling between his lungs. 

"Okay?"

"Okay," Steve replied and shot a cheeky hint of a smile over his shoulder that had Tony chuckling lightly.  _I could love you in so many ways_ , he thought to himself as a dawning belief and shook his head. 

"I'm not sure Edmund will appreciate that as a review," he quipped and let his eyes catch the relaxation of Steve's shoulders, a soft fondness seeping through his core. 

"You said Mary's chocolate malt was  _edible_ ," Steve reminded with the undercurrent of a laugh and Tony opened his fist to a palm, cupping his jaw as he saw Steve shoot him more looks over his shoulder.

"Mary didn't compliment  _my_ eyes for fifteen minutes, _Steven_ ," he commented and Steve raised a brow at the next look, a reflected amusement in his eyes when he remembered the last time he had brought Tony food from the new joint he had discovered. Tony had enjoyed riling him up before finishing every last scrap of the meal. 

"Did you enjoy the date?"

"The - uh -"

"Date," Tony supplied with a growing ease in his chest as he watched the flush spread over Steve's face even as he tried to hide his quirked lips in the excuse of focusing on the bowl he was cleaning. 

"Yes, Anthony," he replied with an emphasis on the name even as Tony heard the momentary shake in his voice that a stranger might have missed. 

"And the company?" he asked just to see Steve turn around, which he did. Steve's face softened a bit more at the question and Tony could write theories, could build equations around the expressions that face built around every emotion. The tilt of a disapproving nose, the curve of a fond laugh line, the slope of a surprised brow - he could explain everything. 

He didn't. It wasn't for everyone. 

"Yes," Steve answered and Tony nodded, letting him turn back around, letting the kitchen fill up with comfortable silence. He wasn't sure if there were books on this, this moment where nothing was significant and nothing changed but everything mattered more than the last. Where there was no before and after but there was  _something_ in between. Soapy arms soaked in a sink and rolled up sleeves resting on a table. 

When he had finally inhaled enough of the moment, filled his insides with enough of belief and insignificant seconds, Tony stood up and walked towards Steve. Reaching him, Tony let his head rest against the man's back, between the shoulders that had carried too many invisible burdens for long. 

"Hi," he repeated and felt Steve's exhale, a soft expansion of undefeated lungs, lungs that had brought him to Tony from the ice. 

"Hi," Steve answered, quiet and calm and Tony's in that word. He turned around, hands clutching the towel hanging from his apron but Tony simply lifted his head enough to rest it again against Steve's chest now. 

"Everything okay at SHIELD?" Tony asked and looked up, just enough that he could see Steve's face looking unbearably fond. A mirror, then, just like Tony. 

"I wanted to get tested," Steve commented and Tony shifted his head, brushing his lips over Steve's heart without intent, "For bugs. Or a virus."

"Because you threw up," Tony nodded and looked up again, watching Steve's lips quirk to the side a little, just a kiss shy of sheepish. 

"Because I threw up last night," he agreed. Tony nodded again and stayed silent, letting Steve see him, watching his eyes roam over Tony's face slowly. 

He would write every emotion over and over again if Steve was looking for it, and he let him read. He knew how precious it was, to  _know_ someone you didn't think you could love enough and he wanted to share that with this man, these eyes that were seeking what Tony had found. This was making space for a bit more than yesterday, a touch more than love, and Tony wanted Steve to know that it was amazing. It felt amazing. 

"You okay?" he asked and Steve nodded wordlessly, eyes crinkling at the edges when Tony's hands came to hold him by the shoulders lightly. Tony watched as those eyes widened slightly, a deep wonder setting into them as Tony's hands travelled over Steve's shoulders up till he could frame Steve's jaw, thumbs slotted below ears. 

"I've been kissed before," Steve said quietly, clear words wrapped in muted memories, a history page dotted with faded ink, "Haven't done the kissing first. From my side."

Tony nodded because he knew about those who had loved Steve, deeply, devotedly, and with a dedication that had built its own legends. It was easy to love Steve Rogers, they said. It was beautiful to be loved by Steve, Tony could say. To be held by a man who pushed ahead to hide his vulnerabilities. Someone who would kiss with nerves because he wanted to, because he needed to, even if he didn't know how. Someone who waited for those were already his. 

"I missed you," Tony said because he could, and because he wanted Steve to know. Steve's smile deepened and Tony raised himself on his toes to press his lips to his forehead, soft and full and slow. He heard Steve's breath skip a beat and held himself there for a moment before lowering himself down to the eyes. Steve watched him, a blink of heartbreaking silence in his chest, before he closed his eyes and let Tony press his lips against his eyelids. Right. Left. Between the brows, until the creases smoothed out. Steve huffed out a laugh when Tony kissed his nose but Tony could hear the swallowed love when the laugh was wet. His palm held Steve's face as he closed his eyes and kissed the cheeks, soft and real, taking his time because this was theirs. 

When he finally moved from kissing the dimpled chin, Tony caught Steve's face and lightly ran his thumbs over the cheekbones, letting Steve keep his eyes closed for another moment. It was okay. He knew what he would see when they opened. 

Steve exhaled slowly before opening his eyes and Tony was right. He could see himself. 

"I missed you," he repeated because they'd have moments for bigger words later. They would build them and many more, as many as they could want. For now, it was this. It was him and Steve and one more step. 

"I'm here," Steve smiled and Tony let himself lean forward, just enough that Steve could try again, could get a second first kiss. Steve lingered for minutes, the way he always did with things that mattered, and Tony could fit a smile curved to their measurements as they brushed apart finally. 

"I'm here now," Steve repeated and Tony believed. 

 


End file.
